Film Production
Applause Entertainment to make a series on Mahatma Gandhi
MUMBAI: Production house Applause Entertainment will make a series on Mahatma Gandhi. The company has bought the rights to two books by Ramachandra Guha. Actor Pratik Gandhi will play Mahatma Gandhi.
Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said, “Ramachandra Guha is a historian and storyteller par excellence, and we are honoured to adapt his classic books – Gandhi before India, and Gandhi – The Years That Changed the World – to screen. We couldn’t think of anyone better than the incredibly talented Pratik Gandhi to bring alive the Mahatma, and his philosophies of peace and love that shook the world. We believe that only a richly layered, multi season drama series will do real justice to Gandhi and to all the great personalities that embed the proud and illustrious history of India’s Freedom Struggle. This is a story of the birthing of modern India for a global audience.”
Historian Ramachandra Guha said, ‘Gandhi’s work transformed the world, and his legacy still sparks the most intense debates. His life was an epic journey, played out across three great countries: India, England and South Africa. He fought nobly for freedom, for inter-faith harmony, and for the rights of the underprivileged. Along the way he made many friends and not a few enemies too. I am delighted that my books on Gandhi are now being adapted for this ambitious and exciting series being produced by Applause Entertainment. I am confident that it will bring the complex contours of Gandhi’s life and the moral essence of his teachings to viewers across the globe’.
Pratik Gandhi said, “I deeply believe in Gandhian philosophy and his values that echo simplicity in its purest forms. Personally too, I strive to achieve and imbibe many of his qualities and teachings in my daily life. Moreover, playing the role of Mahatma is very close to my heart ever since my theater days, and now it is a huge honor to yet again essay the role of this legendary leader on screen. I believe it’s a huge responsibility to essay this role with dignity, grace and conviction, and I can’t wait to embark on this journey with Sameer Nair and his team at Applause.”
Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
